As of Friday morning, at least nine women have accused former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi of violent acts, ranging from choking to “closed fist” punching.

[np_storybar title=”Robyn Urback: The dam breaks on Jian Ghomeshi” link=”http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/10/30/robyn-urback-the-dam-breaks-on-jian-ghomeshi/”%5D In CBC’s Toronto office in 2012, the story goes, three people sat down for an interview. At least two of them knew that not long before, the interviewee allegedly has been thrown against a hotel room wall and fondled forcefully against her will. According to her statement to the Toronto Star, she performed fellatio “just to get out of there” and ended up leaving the hotel room crying. Then, sometime later — perhaps days, or a couple weeks — she sat across from the man she now accuses, along with his executive producer and interviewed for what was, or had been, her dream job.

At least two of them in the interview knew, but somewhere else in the building, there had to be more who, at one time or another, suspected something was amiss.

The allegations go back as far as 2002. Of the nine women who have come forward with the stunning allegations to the media, two have been named, Trailer Park Boys actress Lucy DeCoutere and author and lawyer Reva Seth.

Two journalists working on the story for the Toronto Star, investigative reporter Kevin Donovan and freelance writer Jesse Brown, have said more allegations are on their way.

In a statement on Facebook Thursday, Ghomeshi said that he will “directly” respond to the allegations but would not be making any comments to the media. He declined to say how he would be responding to the allegations.

A timeline of events:

Friday, Oct. 24: It learned that Ghomeshi would be taking an “undetermined leave” from his role as host of CBC Radio’s flagship show Q. Ghomeshi tweets that he “some much needed personal time.” It is speculated to be relation to the recent death of his father, but Canadaland’s Jesse Brown said there is “much more” to the story and it was unrelated to his father’s death.

Sunday, Oct. 26: The CBC announces it is parting way with Ghomeshi after it received “information” on radio host. The public broadcaster does not say what the information was.

“This decision was not made without serious deliberation and careful consideration. Jian has made an immense contribution to the CBC and we wish him well,” the CBC said in a statement.

Hours later, lawyers for Ghomeshi say they plan to sue CBC for $55-million. It is learned Ghomeshi has hired Navigator, a “high-stakes public strategy and communications firm” best known for its work for former Ontario attorney-general Michael Bryant.

Ghomeshi then releases a 1500-word statement on his Facebook account, saying the CBC fired him for his “private life.”

He compared his private sex life to a “a mild form of Fifty Shades of Grey,” the 2011 best-seller that depicted bondage, discipline and the infliction of pain, and dismissed the accusations as a “campaign of false allegations pursued by a jilted ex girlfriend.”

Sunday, Oct. 26:

The Star publishes a story, written by investigative reporter Kevin Donovan and Jesse Brown of Canadaland, that features three unnamed women who say that Ghomeshi was “physically violent to them without their consent during sexual encounters or in the lead-up to sexual encounters.”

Monday, Oct. 27 Ghomeshi’s lawyers file a $55-million lawsuit against the CBC. Many legal experts dismiss it as an impossible case to win and say it is a PR-exercise.

“Quite apart from the fact that his actual damages likely do not exceed 2% of that figure, unionized bargaining-unit employees (as CBC broadcasters are) can’t sue in court for wrongful dismissal,” Howard Levitt wrote in the Financial Post Monday. “This suit will almost certainly be quickly struck down by the courts without Ghomeshi recovering a penny.”

Wednesday, Oct. 29

A woman appears on CBC’s As it Happens, saying she was on a second date with Ghomeshi 10 years ago when he “threw me in front of him on the ground and started closed-fist pounding me on the head repeatedly until my ears were ringing.”

“And I’m on the floor and then I’m in tears. And then he said ‘you need to go,’” said the woman, who appeared without having her voice disguised.

Later Wednesday, the Star publishes a second bombshell as more women come forward, including Trailer Park Boys actress Lucy DeCoutere, with allegations of sexual violence against Ghomeshi.

Handout/CBC

Thursday, Oct. 30 Ghomeshi writes a short Facebook post saying: “I want to thank you for your support and assure you that I intend to meet these allegations directly. I don’t intend to discuss this matter any further with the media.”

Meanwhile, his Facebook page has lost thousands of followers since the Wednesday night revelations.

Thursday, Oct. 30 Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair says there has not been any criminal complaints involving Ghomeshi in relation to the latest media reports. Blair encouraged any victims of sexual assault to come forward to police.

“We are quite prepared to conduct a criminal investigation should they come forward with complaints,” he said.

“One of the things we will not do is force them to do something they do not want to do,” he added when asked why they would not track down the women in the Star article.

Thursday, Oct. 30 Both of Ghomeshi’s public relations firms, Navigator and Rock-it Promotions, drop him as a client late in the afternoon. A Toronto Star story said Navigator sources say Ghomeshi was dropped over “lies” by their client.

Thursday, Oct. 30 In an article entitled “Why I can’t remain silent about what Jian did to me” for the Huffington Post, Reva Seth writes that she was having a pleasant evening with Ghomeshi in 2002 when “Suddenly, it was like he became a different person.”

“Jian had his hands around my throat, had pulled down my pants and was aggressively and violently penetrating me with his fingers,” she wrote.

Thursday, Oct. 30 A former Q producer told the National Post that her three years working for Ghomeshi were hellish.

“We were always on pins and needles, and we were always scared,” she said. “Jian had created this environment of tyranny, no one was standing up to him, everyone enabled his behaviour.”

The woman said that in 2010 Ghomeshi said he wanted to “hate f—” her and had groped her buttocks. She said she went to the show’s executive producer, who said there was no reason to confront the host.

“[The executive producer’s] comment to me was …’He’s never going to change, you’re a malleable person, let’s talk about how you can make this a less toxic work environment for you,” the woman recalled.

Friday, Oct. 31 News emerges that Carleton University in Ottawa is reviewing its internship records going back to 2004-2005 to determine which students worked with Ghomeshi as part of school programs. The school has sent 53 journalism students to do internships at CBC in the last ten years. In an email to faculty, staff and students, the university encouraged anyone who requires support to seek out resources such as the school’s sexual assault support services and health and counselling services.

The Carleton review comes after the emergence of a Twitter account Wednesday called @bigearsteddy, which sent tweets in April accusing Ghomeshi of violent behaviour. One of them, dated April 9, is signed “every female Carleton U media grad.”

Friday, Oct. 31 CBC executives confirm that they fired the host after witnessing “graphic” evidence that he was injuring others.

“On Thursday, Oct. 23, CBC saw for the first time graphic evidence that Jian had caused physical injury to a woman,” wrote executive vice-president Heather Conway in a memo to staff.

CBC president Hubert Lacroix wrote Friday that the Ghomeshi case “raises concerns” that the broadcaster’s system of training and policy “have not been enough.”

“I empathize with those who have felt powerless to speak out, or who have tried to speak out and felt ignored,” he wrote. “As the father of two young daughters, I share your frustration.”

Saturday, Nov. 1 Canadian Ruth Spencer, managing editor of the Guardian U.S. publishes a candid piece about her romantic relationship with Ghomeshi, writing that she believes she “only escaped him subjecting me to sexual violence because of the circumstances, because of the timing, because I moved away from Toronto.”

Sunday Nov. 2 A Pittsburgh newspaper publishes a cluelessly complimentary profile on Ghomeshi in a promotional edition sent to non-subscribers. The story was originally published on Oct. 19 and is absent any reference to Ghomeshi’s dismissal or the allegations against him. The publisher said the edition was printed days before the Mr. Ghomeshi was fired — so the mistake is “not a question of stupidity, it’s a question of deadlines.”

Monday Nov. 3 The Toronto Star reports that a Western University journalism professor advised against sending female students to intern with Q while Ghomeshi was at the helm. The professor, Jeremy Copeland, based his warning about Q on allegations that Mr. Ghomeshi inappropriately touched a recent Western graduate.